Your Guide to the NOMATIC Backpack and Travel Pack

If you haven’t heard, NOMATIC is making history on Kickstarter and pulling in record high earnings.

And it’s not by accident that they’re having so much success. The successful backing of the NOMATIC Backpack and Travel Pack are because of both bags are stylish and functional while offering a wide array of unique features.

We decided to look a bit closer at these two bags. And by the end, we’ll give you our honest opinion on this NOMATIC project.

The NOMATIC Backpack for Everyday Use and the NOMATIC Travel Pack for Those Short 1-3 Day Trips

The idea behind offering these two bags is that though they may look the same, they were each designed for a specific function and purpose.

The NOMATIC backpack is meant to be your go-to everyday backpack. I wouldn’t label it as an ideal bag for bike commuters and it’s a little pricey for college students. But it seems like a good fit for young professional based on its sleek look and design.

As for the NOMATIC travel pack, this bag was made for those short weekend trips with enough space to handle a 3-day trip at the most. It doesn’t offer as much room or flashy features as their travel bag but has some cool design features that I think business travelers might appreciate.

The Story Behind the NOMATIC Backpack and Travel Pack

It was originally named BASICS when it was founded in 2014, by cousins Jacob Durham and Jon Richards. This company based out of Salt Lake City then changed their name to NOMATIC, hoping to better reflect their range of new products.

And the name change must have been a good sign because the NOMATIC Travel Bag is the most-funded travel backpack in Kickstarter history, raising a whopping $1.7 million.

Riding high off the success of their first travel bag, NOMATIC is partnering with the same manufacturer to create their NOMATIC backpack and travel pack

What’s the Difference Between the NOMATIC Backpack and the NOMATIC Travel Pack?

Each of these bags shares some pretty cool features. But first, let’s just start with the basics.

Size and Dimensions of the Backpack and Travel Pack

The dimensions for the travel pack are 18.5” x 6-9.5” (w/ expansion) x 12” with a weight coming in at 4lb. 3oz. The dimensions for the backpack are a little smaller at 18.5” x 5-7.5” (w/ expansion) x 12” and a weight of 3 lb. 10 oz. This makes sense considering they intend customers to use the backpack for everyday use.

In terms of the capacity, it increases thanks to their expansion system. The backpack holds 20L and expands to 24L while the travel pack starts at 20L and expands to a whopping 30L. That’s significantly less than the Patagonia MLC.

Shared Features

Both bags offer an innovative strap system that provides comfort and versatility. The back panel lets you tuck your backpack straps so that you can carry your backpack horizontally, like a briefcase. All you have to do is unsnap the back panel, tuck in the straps, and then snap it back into place. I could see this as a great feature for travel or young professionals who commute to work.

For the exterior, each has a magnetic water bottle pocket. This seems like a silly feature but it’s meant to keep the pockets flat against your bag when you’re not using them. Kind of feels a little over the top, but you have to admit that it gives both bags a really sleek look.

Next, both bags have a retractable key leash attached to an interior pocket. Pretty handy when you want to quickly access your keys without the hassle of fumbling to put them back.

These are just some highlighted shared features but here’s a full list of all the things both these bags have in common:

Waterproof zippers and tarpaulin material

A full parament zipper that offers a lot of accessibility on all sides of the bag

A quick access fleece pocket for valuables

Multiple mesh elastic and zipper pockets

RFID blocking and lockable security pocket to deter theft

A removable hard protective shell for glasses

A notebook pocket

And a hidden pocket for important and/or valuable items.

Overall, both bags share some pretty cool features but don’t be fooled. Even though the NOMATIC Backpack and Travel Pack look very similar, they each have specific features designed for their intended purpose.

What’s So Special About the NOMATIC Bag?

The bag was made with the idea that it would serve as a high-quality backpack for everyday use.

Apart from all the normal backpack features, this bag offers a customizable Velcro panel. The idea is that it allows the customer to tailor the bag to fit their specific needs and lifestyle. Each bag has three options:

The Tech Pocket – 4 individual pockets in various sizes that are perfect for holding your chargers and other gadgets

The Paper Organizer – a single sleeve that’s great for storing and documents, magazines or small notebooks.

This is by far one of my favorite features of the bag. It makes it feel like it’s three bags in one! The Velcro pockets make it easy to swap out the different pockets depending on what I need.

Unique Features of the NOMATIC Travel Pack

NOMATIC designed this pack for people traveling 1-3 days so it doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as their travel bag.

However, it does come with some fairly cool features that make it ideal for a short weekend trip.

The first is a dividing mesh wall. This is to help you compartmentalize your packing and keep all your belongings organized.

Underneath the mesh wall, there’s a shoes/clothes compartment. This compartment is similar to the shoes/clothes pocket on the NOMATIC backpack. They both feature an expandable elastic opening. However, this pocket is not removable like on the backpack.

But the most travel-friendly feature as to be the TSA approved laptop compartment and tablet compartment. It lays flat so you can easily get through security checkpoints at the airport.

Finally, each pack comes with a compression packing cube. This is a nice feature to help you pack a little bit more but still stay organized. It’s broken up into two compartments meant to separate clean clothes from dirty clothes. The cube compresses down from 5 ½ inches to 3 ½ inches.

Who Should Buy the NOMATIC Backpack or Travel Pack?

If you’re a young professional and you have the money, I say you should invest in the NOMATIC backpack. It has a really sleek look that still feels appropriate for work and a lot of features that will make your life a whole lot easier.

Because the backpack is a bit pricey, I wouldn’t recommend this backpack for college students. It doesn’t seem to match closely enough with their needs.

As for the Travel Pack, again, it would work great for business professionals who have to travel frequently for work as a carry-on bag. I would be hesitant to recommend this bag as your only travel bag even for a short 3-day trip.

Especially for those people that travel pretty frequently just because it doesn’t seem to have enough space and organization to handle the job. Plus the design looks pretty sleek but it might be too sleek for travel.

How Much does the NOMATIC Backpack and Travel Pack Cost?

Here’s the deal. The estimated retail price of the backpack is $200 after they complete their Kickstarter campaign. However, on Kickstarter, they’re currently offering it for an early bird price of US $189. This price includes the backpack along with the 3 interchangeable panels.

For the travel pack, the estimated retail price is $210 and they’re offering it on Kickstarter with an early bird price of $179 along with one of their compression packing cubes.

They offer a mix and match deal with one backpack and one travel pack for $348 with an estimated retail price of $410.

This may seem a bit expensive to most of you, but you’re getting a lot for your money, considering the premium design and function of this bag. It might turn out to be a smart investment.

What Kind of Warranty Do the NOMATIC Bags Have?

NOMATIC claims that if you are not 100% satisfied with the quality of your bag, send it back for a total refund. No questions asked.

This demonstrates that they really stand by their product and they’re confident that you will love it.

How Does NOMATIC Handle International Shipping?

Their terms of sale for international orders are FOB destination. For those of you that don’t know, this means that you pay all freight and duties or taxes.

These various duties and taxes are not built into the cost so you are left to calculate that amount and convert it to your local currency.

Final Thoughts on the NOMATIC Backpack and Travel Pack

Even though I’d prefer these bags to not look so similar to one another I think they deliver on what NOMATIC promises.

Their backpack is my favorite out of the two but I’d be interested to see how the travel pack compares to their travel bag.

Overall, the NOMATIC team has a really sleek design and some pretty unique features that you should check out for yourself.